Cannon Thoroughbreds' homebred Smooth Like Strait continued his dominance of the West Coast's 3-year-old male turf division in Saturday's Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile Stakes on opening day at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., taking over from front-running Storm the Court in the stretch and winning comfortably by three-quarters of a length.
Ridden by Umberto Rispoli, the Midnight Lute colt trained by Michael McCarthy covered one mile on a firm turf course in 1:33.51 and paid $3.60 as the 4-5 favorite. Storm the Court held second by a half-length at 10-1 odds after setting fractions of :23.02, :46.49, 1:10.12 and 1:21.67. Whisper Not, the 5-2 second choice in the wagering, finished third in the field of seven 3-year-olds, a head in front of Field Pass, with Scarto fifth, Strongconstitution sixth and Heywoods Beach seventh.
Smooth Like Strait, coming off a head defeat to East Coast invader Domestic Spending in the G1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar on Nov. 28, broke smoothly and sat just off Storm the Court throughout. Rispoli edged the colt up alongside Storm the Court at the top of the stretch and quickly put his head in front, but Storm the Court fought back and only gave way grudgingly in the final sixteenth.
“We knew Storm the Court would be going for the lead, so I just wanted to sit back of him,” said Rispoli, who has now won two of his last three races aboard Smooth Like Strait. “We got the perfect trip…When it came time to ask him in the stretch, he was ready to go.”
The victory was the sixth in 12 stars for the Kentucky-bred Smooth Like Strait, who was produced from the Flower Alley mare, Smooth As Usual. He's won four graded stakes, all in Southern California, and added the listed War Chant at Churchill Downs in May.
“I was surprised at how well he came out of the Hollywood Derby,” said McCarthy. “He put in a couple of works that were I thought maintenance type works, but everything he was showing me in the morning, and the way he was acting around the barn. I thought about it for a couple of days whether we should go or wait until March, give him a little bit of a break over the winter. But he acted like he had his mind on running today and I'm glad we got him over here.”
McCarthy said Smooth Like Strait will get a short break before pointing to two G1 races in the spring, the Frank E. Kilroe Mile on March 6, and the Shoemaker Mile on May 31.
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